War Never Changes
by Draygon-Icewing
Summary: What would you do if all that you had ever known was consumed in nuclear fire? What if you had been changed forever by that same fire? How would you survive? Would you even want to?
1. Chapter 1

Short pink fingernails tapped the steering wheel impatiently as Martha honked the horn for the second time. She looked at her watch as she heard the front door slam. A bustle of orange and black streaked from the front of the house to her car, nearly throwing herself into the passenger seat, her face lit up with a grin that spread from ear to ear. "Sorry! I had to help mom put Davie down for his nap."

"He still pitching a fit every time a plane flies over?" Martha laughed with her friend as she hit the accelerator and the car sped down Eisenhower Drive.

"Yea. Last time mom nearly had a fit herself when he woke up in the middle of the night. Honestly, who hears those things anymore?" The two laughed as Martha turned on the radio and tuned it to their favorite station, Dean Domino crooning over the speakers as they cruised over N. Collins Street in North Arlington toward Poseidon Stadium.

"So, you excited to see the game," Martha asked as she put both hands on her steering wheel as a police car passed them, the identity scanners bathing their car in green light before they sped away.

"You bet!" The plump redhead in the passenger seat nearly bounced in her seat, the orange of her dress making her look like she was on fire. "They signed Ricky Rodgers this year! He hit 63 home runs last year for the Minnesota Muons!"

"Don't count Dick Sutherland out! He may be retiring after this year but he's still been setting home plate on fire with those fast balls of his." Martha turned to on to W. Randol Mill, slowing down as the traffic built up to get into the parking lot of the stadium. The entrance was five lanes wide and traffic was slowed to a standstill as each car was stopped before entering.

Martha rolled down the window when the soldier tapped on it with one end of his night-stick. "Good afternoon, ladies. Before you can enjoy the game we need to search your vehicle. This should only take a moment."

"Of course!" Martha chirped as she sat quietly as the soldiers surrounded her car, opening the passenger doors and the trunk to search thoroughly. Martha and her friend stayed silent and still as the search ended and the soldiers closed the doors.

"All clear. Enjoy the game, ladies." Martha, carefully pressing the accelerator, slowly made her way from the check point to their assigned parking spot. The bars blocking the area retracted as the scanner recognized her car's license plate, letting the vehicle enter before extending again to prevent theft.

The two hopped out of the car, Martha snatching the metal valet ticket, and made their way across the parking lot to the lines forming at the entrance. People from all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth area were crowded at the entrance, talking excitedly as they waited.

"Wow, did you see the paper this morning? I can't believe Sutherland is going to retire! He's been playing for so long you'd think he would live forever!"

"How's the wife? She still tending to little Johnny?"

"She sure is. He got a little too close too a couple of cars that wrecked on our street last week. But the doctor says he'll be right as rain in a week or two. The missus is still worried. You know how she is."

"Ned! I heard your son enlisted last week! Congratulations! I can't imagine how proud you are!"

"You bet we are! We were sure he was going to become a journalist. Then one day, out of the blue, he enlists. Just like that."

"Well, good on him! Nothing more courageous than defending our great nation from those Commies!"

"Say, did you get your ticket to Vault 61, yet?"

"Not yet. Mom doesn't want to start buying them until we save up enough to get tickets for the whole family."

Martha's smile faltered slightly at her friends answer. "Well, we got ours last week. Your's shouldn't be too far behind. Maybe you'll get an invitation! I've heard Vault-Tech is sending those out to random families."

"Yea! I hope we get lucky enough to win a set! I hear the vaults are really swell on the inside!"

The two chattered as they stepped up to the check point inside the stadium, heavily armed soldiers in power armor weaving through the crowd as though they were ghosts.

"Good afternoon, mam. Could you please present your identity card?"

Martha pulled her ID card out of her purse. "Here ya go, sir!"

The soldier took the steel card and inserted it into a large machine that scanned Martha's face. It beeped once as it spit the card back out. "Martha Svboda. Identity confirmed."

Martha took her ID card back as she quickly stepped forward so her friend could get through the line.

"Good afternoon, mam. Could you please present your identity card?"

The soldier repeated the process with her ID card, the machine scanning her face before beeping once. "Lisa Wendel. Identity confirmed."

"Enjoy the game, miss." Lisa took her ID card, and joined her friend. Behind them, as an older gentleman stepped up to the checkpoint, the machine emitted three beeps as it scanned his face.

"Sir, could you come with us please?" Two heavily armed soldiers decked out in power armor spoke to the gentleman who walked off with them without a fuss.

The two women quickly made their way up the escalator toward the fourth floor of the stadium where their seats were assigned. "Do you want a hot dog?" Martha chirped as she pointed to the stand that showed cased every all-American snack under the sun.

"Sure! I should have enough for a soda, too!" The two women got in line for the snack bar, neither batting an eye at the fully armed and armored soldiers with weapons trained on the crowd.

"What'll it be, ladies?" The man behind the counter smiled and winked at the two, who giggled in return.

"I'll have the Plutonium Pitt-bull with extra jalapenos, please! And a large Nuka-cola!"

The man behind the counter rang up Martha's order as he started assembling her meal. "Coming right up, little lady! That'll be $45.90."

Martha pulled out a $50 bill from her wallet and handed it over to the vendor, closing her purse before anyone could spot that it was now empty.

As Martha took her order toward their seats, Lisa stepped up. "I'd like The Meltdown with cheese and a large Nuka-cola, please!"

The vendor behind the counter shot off a "Right away!" as he made her order and set it on the counter. "That'll be $55.47."

Lisa dug in her purse and pulled out her over stuffed wallet. She had saved for months to have this one treat. She counted out $56 in fives and ones, smiling as she did so. She received her change and took her snack and nearly skipped toward where Martha was sitting now.

Lisa sat down, the two grinning like idiots as they each dug into their hot dogs. This is what Lisa had been wanting for over a year. The feeling of the hot, steamed bun giving way, the cheese dripping between her fingers as the taste of the real, honest-to-goodness beef hot dog exploded with flavor in her mouth.

The added heat of the peppers in the wiener was like the 4th of July in her mouth, declaring independence from the bland flavor of the frozen and store bought dinners they had been eating for the past few years. This one moment alone was worth all the hard work. The game hadn't even started, and this was turning out to be the best birthday ever!

The two women nearly made a scene licking the cheese and chili off of their fingers, not wanting to miss even one tiny morsel of flavor. They chased the heat of the peppers with the fizz of their Nuka-colas, each mimicking the billboard's advertising the drinks as they exhaled in savory satisfaction.

The two got to their feet as the stadium's spotlights came on, making the stadium into a cathedral of light, giving the game an otherworldly feel as soldiers marched out onto the field with a delegation of people following close behind.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice boomed over the crowd as each person fell silent and got to their feet. "We present a very special guest all the way from the frozen north! Please give a warm welcome to Governor Le Fleur of Ontario! Recently annexed into the great U.S of A!"

Everyone in the crowd exploded into applause as the governor waved and stepped up to the microphone. "I thank you and all the people of Dallas for the stupendous welcome my family and I have received today! The governor of Texas has been an amazing host as we, the governors of the new states of this fabulous union, have toured this magnificent state. I feel honored, as I know all those from our states feel, to be a part of this amazing nation. The economies of our states have thrived in the wake of our inclusion and I am here to tell you that we couldn't be happier! I feel as though you and I are brothers and sisters of the same family, and together, nothing can challenge us! Now, for what you've all been waiting for. Play ball!"

The crowd cheered again as the national anthem began playing from the loud speakers, each person in the stadium with their right hand over their heart as they sang along. The sound of the armored soldiers walking up and down the stairs as they checked that everyone was paying proper respect was drowned out as everyone joined in the song.

As the last bars played, the crowed shouted the final words and cheered as loudly as they could as the players filed out onto the field, setting up for the first inning. Martha and Lisa sat along with everyone else, clapping and calling out to their favorite players.

The two whistled and cheered as Sutherland took the field and headed toward the pitcher's mound, stretching his arm as the opposing team's batter got ready. The two sat on the edge of their seats as Sutherland wound up before pitching his trademark fast ball, cheering as the umpire yelled "Strike!" The crowd exploded in cheers as the display on the jumbo-tron over the field clocked his fastball at 120 mph.

Sutherland wound up for a second pitch, this time the batter catching the ball just right to send it flying high into the air. The audiences' eyes followed the small white dot as sirens began to wail. Lisa looked to Martha, ice flowing in her veins. All at once, the entire stadium descended into panic. People were shoving each other to the ground, trampling, clawing, screaming and doing everything they could to get to the exits.

Martha and Lisa hung back, not wanting to get caught in the horde as soldiers opened fire on those who did not heed their orders to stay in their seats. Lisa could feel the panic welling up inside as people stepped over the corpses of their own family members to try to flee. She cast her eyes about for a way out, and she found one. No one had noticed a small alcove and the soldiers guarding it had left to try to control the crowd at the larger exits.

"This way!" Lisa pulled Martha away from the mad stampede toward the unguarded doors. She opened them slightly to make sure the coast was clear. She waited until a group of soldiers thundered past before opening the door and leading Martha through. The two crouched in silence as they looked for a way out.

Lisa tugged Martha's arm toward a maintenance closet. Inside, a ladder led down to the lower levels. She locked the door to make sure the soldiers didn't find them and prodded Martha toward the ladder. "Come on! We might be able to make it to the vault before it's too late."

"Yea..." Martha pursed her lips, staying silent as she started climbing down, Lisa following as each moved as fast as they could. They had to pause a few times as the doors to the maintenance ladders were opened by soldiers searching for people trying to escape, making a mad dash as the doors were closed again.

The ladder only went down to the second level, however as the hatch down had been closed. The two huddled in the closet as they listened to the soldiers barking orders to people not to flee and the near deafening sound of gunfire when those orders were ignored. Lisa cracked the door open slightly, watching as soldiers ran in every direction to control the people inside the stadium.

When it seemed the flow of soldiers had died down, she motioned for Martha to follow her as they both sneaked behind one of the hot dog vendors stations, the corpse of the employee lay over the counter where he was gunned down. The two waited as more soldiers passed.

"Yes, sir?"

Lisa and Martha both flattened themselves as one of those soldiers stood by the snack bar, his fingers to his helmet as he spoke with his superiors. "Yes, sir. The delegation has been eliminated. The civilians are putting up resistance."

The soldier walked a few steps before stopping.

"All of them, sir?" The soldier nodded as he listened. "Yes, sir. Moving out."

The two women stayed where they were for a few moments as the soldiers on the other side of the corner were called to the main stadium area. When it seemed all the soldiers had gone, the two made a break for the stairs, running as fast as they could down the escalator and out the front door.

Martha dug into her purse to pull out the valet ticket, inserting it in to the machine. "Unable to process request. All systems on lock down. Please return to the stadium."

Martha, in full panic mode when the machine did not return the ticket, tried kicking it as it repeated the message again. Tears streamed down her face as planes streaked overhead, heading east as muffled explosions could be heard in the far distance. Lisa cast her eyes around and found a military truck near by, keys still in the ignition, engine running. She reached over and grabbed Martha by her sweater top and hauled her toward the truck, nearly throwing her into it as she took the wheel.

As she shifted the truck into gear, a group of soldiers came out from between the cars, aiming their rifles into the cab. Lisa pulled Martha down as she hit the gas, bullets shattering the windshield as she hit the gas, the truck bucking as though running over speed bumps. "Which way?"

"What?" Martha seemed only half conscious, tears streaming down her face.

"Which way to the vault?" Lisa tried not to scream at Martha. She was just as scared.

"P-Poseidon to 180 East." Lisa nodded as Martha descended into tears again. She had never driven a gas powered truck before, but she figured it wouldn't be too different than the Corvega her dad drove. She pressed her foot on the pedal and was rewarded with both of them being thrown back into their seats. Keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel, she navigated the large truck onto Route 180.

The road was clear of traffic as Lisa drove, paying no mind to the speed limit. "Martha." Martha didn't seem to hear her name as she kept her eyes on the sky, watching con-trails streak over head and into the east, so many they actually dimmed the sun. "Martha!" Lisa shook Martha's arm to snap her out of it. "Where do I turn off on?"

Martha took a moment to understand the question. "South-east Fourteenth. Um... right."

Lisa knew where that would take them. That was close to Mountain Creek Lake and the Dallas Naval Air Station on it's shores. "Where after that?" She tapped the brakes as she made the sharp turn onto SE 14th, not daring to slow down.

Martha sobbed. "Crockett..." Lisa couldn't make out the rest, but she understood what she meant. The Crockett Fifth Grade Education Center. "I..." Martha couldn't talk through the tears, her hands covering her eyes as she wept.

"We'll get there, Martha. We'll be alright." Lisa shot her hand out as she slammed on the brakes, preventing Martha from hitting her head on the steel dashboard. "Come on!" She pulled Martha bodily out of the truck and up the concrete steps. The doors were closed, the sign saying that the facility was only open on weekdays. Putting her shoulder into it, Lisa broke the lock, the wooden door giving way as the two ran into the building.

Nearly twenty minutes after the sirens first sounded, the two pulled open the door to the basement, Martha running ahead to the furthest room. The vault door, the number 61 emblazoned on it in yellow, stood in the lowest part of the basement, hidden by a blind corner.

Martha inserted her ID into the console, the door to the vault grinding open. Lisa made to follow, but Martha put her hand out as two security guards greeted them with their weapons raised. "I'm sorry."

Lisa didn't believe her ears at first, taking a step forward. She stopped when the guards aimed their rifles at her head. "I don't understand. There's space! Everyone couldn't have gotten here on time."

"We moved in here over a month ago." Martha lowered her eyes as realization dawned on Lisa's face. "There is no more room." Martha turned her back on her oldest friend and ran down several steps, disappearing completely. The guards backed away, one hitting the controls to close the door.

"I saved your life!" Lisa screamed, panic rising as she dared not take another step lest she get shot. "Martha!"

The door finely shut, metal grinding as it was sealed. Lisa stood in the basement as the lights flickered, staring at the door. Slowly she sank to her knees, pounding her fists on the thick steel door as her entire world heaved and pitched, the lights going out for the last time.

* * *

Lisa came to, coughing as dust billowed from in front of her face. Disoriented by the complete darkness, she made her way, slowly to the stairs. Her hands splayed out on either side of her, she felt along the wall. She slowly walked, her feet catching on fallen equipment and slabs of concrete. Somewhere, deeper in the basement, she heard the unmistakable sound of a boiler tripping it's pressure release valve.

She had to stop, her eyes stinging from the concrete dust falling on her head. She sneezed once, holding one hand in front of her face as she continued on, her fingers finely closing around the stair rail. Gripping the rail tightly, she climbed, slowly out of the darkness. The door was jammed against a beam, forced at an odd angle as the entire building groaned. She exhaled and squeezed between the door jam and the steel beam and concrete blocking it. It wouldn't be long before the entire building collapsed underneath it's own weight.

She had expected the sun to be shining through the windows, but she was greeted by a sky so dim she could barely see her hand in front of her face. After nearly an hour of fumbling around in the dark, Lisa finely reached the front doors. The wall had buckled and leaned dangerously inward, the floor covered in broken glass. She stepped outside, finding that the truck they had used to travel here had found a new home upside down on the roof of the now ruined education center.

The air was choked in dust and fine particles that felt like sand paper on her exposed skin. She wasn't sure what time it was. The sky told her that the sun had already set, however her watch was still reading five minutes after four in the afternoon. Lisa took a few steps out into the parking lot, casting her eyes up and down the road.

The area looked surprisingly intact, the only major damage done to vehicles and some small houses down the street. She felt hope bubble up inside her. Maybe only one bomb landed. Maybe everyone was just hunkering down in their homes, waiting for the all clear to sound.

Lisa started walking north toward a small cluster of houses across the street from the education center. They looked relatively undamaged so she came up to the front door of the first one and knocked. She waited for a few minutes and knocked again, harder this time. The door swung open a few inches.

She slowly stepped inside. The living room was empty except for a couch, a coffee table and a radio on a wooden table. The kitchen was clean. The bedrooms were stripped bare, all of the clothes taken from the dressers in a hurry, leaving drawers and hangers scattered all over the floor.

Lisa remembered Martha telling her that her family had moved in a month ago. But it made no sense to her. Why would they do that? She picked up the phone, hoping to call home and have her father pick her up, but the line was dead, not even a dial tone. Just silence.

It was about then that she realized that there were no sounds around her.

There were no screams, no sirens, no gun fire.

Only the wind.

She stepped out of the door, holding her hand up shield her eyes from the dust, as she caught a hazy glimpse of the downtown skyline jutting up from the horizon like old, bleached bones. Utterly destroyed.

The first sound to greet her ears as the old world died, was her own scream.

War... War never changes.


	2. Chapter 2

Lisa groaned in annoyance as bright light streamed in the window. She turned over, tucking her head under the blanket. Somewhere, the radio was blasting the morning news and as she peeked her head out from the covers, she could swear she smelled bacon cooking.

Lisa leaped from bed, not bothering to change out of her pajamas as she raced out of her room, taking the stairs two at a time, breathless as she entered the kitchen. Her mother, her back to her, was cooking pancakes and bacon on the stove as the radio blared next to her. Davie, bib around his neck, was busy trudging a pair of metal toy soldiers through maple syrup. The sun was bright through the windows and she could hear the neighbors leaving their houses for work.

Dazed, she sat at the table as she watched everything with wide eyes. Was it all just a nightmare?

"Two pancakes, sweetie?" Lisa's mother turned around, her face brightened with a smile as she held the pan in her hand, spatula ready to dish out as many pancakes as her daughter wanted.

"Yes, mam."

Lisa watched as her mother, graying hear tied in a bun, laid out two pancakes on her plate along with a few slices of bacon. It was all Lisa could do to stare at them. They smelled so good as she spread butter on them and drowned them in syrup. She took her first bite as she heard a car door slam in the drive way.

The front door opened up and her father came through, hung his hat on the rack and closed the door behind him. His hair had gone gray long ago, and his slender frame wasn't nearly as tall as it had once been when Lisa was very young.

"Welcome home, honey!" Lisa's parents shared a quick peck on the lips before her father fetched himself a cup of fresh coffee, sitting at the table with the news paper as her mother piled his plate high with pancakes and bacon.

"How was the game, yesterday," he asked her as he stirred in creamer and sugar.

Lisa opened her mouth, only to close it again. She tried as hard as she could, but she couldn't recall a single detail on how the game played out. The only things that she could remember were gunfire, explosions and Martha's last words.

"There wasn't any room left," she said finely, noting with confusion that both her parents simply nodded their heads. "Why didn't we buy tickets to the vault?"

Lisa watched as everything fell silent, the radio issuing only static. Even Davie had stopped playing with his toys, his eyes staring out the window. Before she could form the question in her mind, the sky flashed a brilliant white. Where her parents stood, only bones remained only to blow away in the wind as dust, leaving her alone.

Lisa screamed as she sat bolt upright in bed. She sat with her head on her knees, willing her heart to stop pounding as a blinding flash of lightening lit up the room she had slept in. The skies had opened hours after the bombs fell, soaking the earth in black rain that smelled of burnt meat.

The sheet she had hung over the window blew in the wind, stained black. The floor was soaked and as Lisa climbed down from the top bunk, she found that it was warm on her feet. Slowly, she made her way to the kitchen. She had found a flashlight in the nightstand and used this to illuminate her way. The fridge had only a scant few items left. One of them was a can of Cram and she pulled this and a bottle of Nuka-Cola out along with a spoon from the drawer.

Slowly she sat down, opened the Cram and spooned the potted meat into her mouth. It was salty and gummy and she tasted none of it. Even the Nuka-cola tasted like water as she washed the meal down. As she finished, she held the bottle in her hand, staring at the label emblazoned on it. Martha had given her her first taste of the soda when they were little.

They had been best friends since first grade, had nearly all the same classes and hadn't been apart for more than a few days since. Lisa had trusted her with every secret and dream and fear. She had been there for Martha when her parents had divorced. She had been there when her grandfather had died. She had been there for everything Martha had gone through. She had even been there the day the world had ended and the only thing Martha had to pay her back with were four words. 'There's no more room.'

Lisa gripped the bottle until her hands ached. She looked up at the clock in the shape of a cat, it's eyes staring straight ahead, the time reading five after four. That clock hadn't moved since Lisa had taken refuge in this house. For what felt like days, she had fantasized about the police bursting through the door and arresting her for breaking and entering.

For days she had played out the last half hour before everything had gone to hell. Martha had said that they had moved into the vault a month prior. But why? Why uproot everything and hide in the vault? Unless...

Lisa threw the empty bottle at the clock, not caring as both fell to the floor, scattering pieces everywhere. She held her head in her hands and wept. The flashlight flickered as the batteries finely died, leaving Lisa in the dark again as the sky wept black tears.


End file.
